An 'Insiders' Account On The Death Of Afghan Taliban Leader Mullah Omar

A reward poster from a Pakistani newspaper shows Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar. FAISAL MAHMOOD/REUTERS

Newsweek: Exclusive: Inside the Mysterious ‘Death’ of Taliban Leader Mullah Omar

Just before the end of Ramadan this year, I received an unexpected call from one of Mullah Mohammed Omar’s longtime family friends. He had just learned a secret held by only a tiny circle of Omar’s most trusted associates: The supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban was dead.

Rumors of Omar’s death have been circulating since he vanished in late 2001. The last verifiable sighting placed him on the back of a Honda motorbike, heading into the mountains outside Kandahar while the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance fighters closed in on the city. But this caller was different—extraordinarily well placed to know about the Mullah’s whereabouts. His claims were also very detailed. He asked not to be quoted by name on such a sensitive topic, but he and his family are highly respected for their longtime humanitarian work in Pakistan’s Afghan exile community.

WNU Editor: Rumours of Afghan Taliban leader Mullah Omar dying have been circulating for years .... and just like Osama Bin Laden .... these rumours could never be confirmed. Osama Bin laden met his fate in 2011 ... but Mullah Omar fate remained a mystery until this week. I do not know if the above Newsweek account is accurate, but I do know that it must have been quite a feat to keep his death secret for two years .... New Taliban Chief Deceived Others About Mullah Omar's Death: Report (NDTV).